Thumbtack handler



United States Patent 72] Inventor Yasuhiko Tsunemi 18-5, Higashi-Ueno 2-Chome, Daitoku, Tokyo, Japan [21] Appl. No. 695,503

[22] Filed Jan. 3, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 22, 1970 [32] Priority Feb. 16, 1967, Oct. 5, 1967 [33] Japan [31 Nos. 42/12551UM and 42/84409UM [54] THUMBTACK HANDLER 10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs. [52] 0.8. CI. 227/63 [51] Int. Cl. B25: 1 l/00 [50] Field of Search [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 598,306 2/1898 Henderson 254/25 1,043,369 11/1912 Smith 254/25 1,101,845 6/1914 Graue 254/25 1,255,660 2/1918 Stevens 254/25 3,218,030 11/1965 Baro 254/18 3,342,228 9/1967 Reid 145/46 Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. AttorneysRobert E. Burns and Emmanuel J. Lobato ABSTRACT: A device for anchoring, removing and accommodating thumbtacks comprising a permanent magnet disc for attractively holding an individual thumbtack thereon, a bladed circular opening for removing the thumbtack and a chamber for thumbtack accommodation.

PATENTED DEE22 I976 SHEET 1 UF 2 PATENTED M022 I976 SHEET 2 [IF 2 THUMBTACK HANDLER This invention relates to a device forattaching, detaching and accommodating tacks having enlarged head portions, and particularly thumbtacks.

Generally, thumbtacks or drawing pins are known as useful for retaining posters, paintings and the like on a wall, and as the name implies, they are applied normally with thumb pressure. There is often need for strenuous finger pressure on'the thumbtacks where the wall to which the article is to be attached is hard surfaced. Difficulty is also encountered in removing with fingers the thumbtacks which have been forced into the wall, and there is a possibility that the thumbtacks are inadvertently let fall on the floor.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a novel, useful device of this character which will eliminate the abovenoted difiiculties.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a thumbtack handler of an integral construction which is capable of anchoring, removing and storing the thumbtacks.

These and other objects and features of my invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 through 3','inclusive, illustrate one embodiment of my invention, of which FIG. 1 is atop plan view of the thumbtack handler; FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the same shown as in a position vto anchor the thumbtack onto the wall; and FIG. 3 is a similar view of the same shown as in a position to remove the thumbtack.

FIGS. 4 through 8, inclusive, illustrate a modification of the thumbtack handler of my invention, of which FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the device; FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the same corresponding to FIG. 2; FIG. 6 is a side view, partially cross-sectional, of the rear end portion of the device at which there is provided with a thumbtack removing means; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 4; and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line V-V of FIG. 6.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the drawings.

Reference is first had to FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrating one form of the thumbtack handler according to my invention. The device is generally configured to simulate the stock of a firing gun, and it generally consists of an elongated casing comprising a top member 10 and a barrel member 11. The top member 10 may be of any suitable metal, and is provided with a sloped portion 10a for resting a thumb thereat when anchoring the thumbtack T into the wall W, and with a flat portion 10b having tack-removal means thereon comprising a circular opening 12 whose periphery has a tapered portion 12'. This circular opening is adapted to hook beneath the head of the thumbtack around its peripheral edge and. pry the same off the wall in the manner later described.

The fore end portion of the top member 10 is bent downwardly nearly at right angles to the flat portion 12 and secured together with fitting 13 to a relatively thick rise portion 14 of the barrel member 11 by means of a screw 15. The fore-end portion defines a temporarystorage chamber which receives the removed thumbtacks and delivers them, by gravity flow, to a storage chamber C, as more fully described below. 7

There is mounted on the elongated housing tack-holding means comprising a permanent magnet of a disc form 16 on the fitting 13. This magnet releasably holds the head of the thumbtack thereon in a working position, as illustrated in FIG. 2, instead of holding the same with fingers, when anchoring it into the wall.

The barrel member 11 forming a body of the device may be fabricated preferably with a suitable transparent plastic material, so as to permit thumbtacks to be seen that are kept therein and to facilitate integral formation of the various parts referred to hereafter. It may be generally of a U-shape in cross section to let the fingers to rest comfortable thereon when operating the device. The barrel member 11 is secured at its fore-end, i.e., rise portion 14 to the vertical bend of the top member 10 by means of screw 15 as already mentioned, and at its rear end portion to the corresponding end portion of the member 10 by means of a copper ring 17. For this purpose, the barrel member 11 has integral therewith a rib part 18 adapted to support the rear end of the top member 10 fixedly thereon.

Designated at the reference character C is a storage chamber defined generally by the top and barrel members of the device. This chamber serves to conveniently accommodate an inventory of thumbtacks. To prevent the movement of the thumbtacks out through the opening 12 when the device is held upside down, there is provided valve means comprising a valve member or stopper 19 pivotally connected at 19' to the bottom part of the barrel member 11. This valve member 19 is counterbalanced with a weight 20 so that it may open clockwise that is, in the direction in which the thumbtacks fall from the opening 12 and may close against the top member 10 when the device is turned upside down, to block the escape of the thumbtacks.

The barrel member 11 has integral therewith a frame part 21 at its extreme rear end behind the rib part 18. To this frame part is connected a hinge as shown at 22 for mounting pivotally thereon a lid member 23 with which to let the thumbtacks out of the chamber C when needed. The lid 23 has a peripheral ridge 23 for frictional engagement with the frame part 21 of the plastic barrel member 11. This ridge also serves to prevent the thumbtacks from slipping out of the lid member when the latter is fully open.

With this construction, the device may be operated in the manner following.

When attaching a poster, for example, on the wall, the thumbtack T may be simply deposited on the tack-holding means 16 and pierced through the poster into the wall W with pressure applied by the hand on the device in the fashion schematically shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 5, and such a position of the device constitutes one working position of the device. In such instance, it is quite obvious that the thumbtack can easily go into a hard surfaced wall, because the pressure directed under a relatively large mass of the device collectively toward the magnet disc 16 is far greater than, or beyond comparison with the endeavouring bare finger pressure to which the anchoring of thumbtacks has hitherto resorted. The magnet disc 16 further serves as a means of positioning the thumbtack with respect to the wall to which the poster is desirably attached.

Conversely, to remove the thumbtacks from the wall, the device of my invention may be held in the position shown in FIG. 3 wherein the bladed opening 12, which is sized to receive therethrough the head portions of the tacks being used, in the top member 10 catches them around its periphery one at a time. The thumbtack may be pried off the wall by lifting the device about a pivotal point P 01' P whichever is more conveniently disposed for handling of the device, and such manual manipulations constitute additional working positions of the device. It should be noted that the orientation of the device during the holding and applying operations is different than the orientation of the device during the tack-removal operation, i.e., the device has different operating positions for performing its different functions. The thumbtacks thus removed fall under the influence of gravity into the temporary storage chamber and may be conveniently introduced into the storage chamber C of the device through the counterbalanced valve member 19 which opens in response to the weight of the incoming thumbtacks, and may be thus stored therein for reuse.

Reference to FIGS. 4 through 8, inclusive, shows a modification of my invention which is basically the same as the first embodiment which has been previously described. An account will be made of those parts which add to, or differ from the first embodiment.

In the modification, there is provided an annular sleeve 24 of a nonmagnetic material such as for example copper on the the thumbtack centrally on the magnet surface.

The barrel member 11 has one side recessed as at 25 for engagement with a sash member 26 made of a resilient material such as polypropylene and having an integrally formed window 27. This window is recessed at one end 28 about which it opens and closes as shown in FIG. 8. The other end of the window 27 is formed like a jaw 29 for resilient engagement with the sash member 25 and has a tab 30 with which to open the window. This window structure is equivalent to the lid member. 23 referred to in the first embodiment, in that it serves to let thumbtacks in and out of the chamber C.

The top member is screwed at 31 to a thickened rear end portion of the barrel'member 11, instead of being supported on the rib l8, and has its rear end edge sharpened into a pointed extension 32 which comprises another tack-removal means.

In the second embodiment, there is also provided another magnet member 33which is mounted with fitting 34 on the bottom end of the device opposite to the magnet disc 16.

Defined between the magnet 33 and the sharpened edge or pointed extension 32 of the top member 10 is a gap 35 which serves to let the head of the thumbtack slip in when the latter is hooked and pried off the wall by the said sharpened edge 32 in the fashion'illustrated in FIG. 6. As seen, this arrangement is convenient particularly for removing the thumbtacks that are located close to projections on the wall and this tackremoval means is operable when the device is moved through a range of positions, one of which is shown in FIG. 6, which is different than the operating positions associated with both the operation of the other tack-removal means and the tack-holding means. The advantage of the rear magnet member 33 is that the thumbtacks are attracted thereto immediately they are removed from the wall by the sharpened edge 32 without allowing them to fall inadvertently on the floor.

Having thus described my invention, it will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact form and construction described and illustrated, but certain modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

lclaim:

1. A device for use with tacks having enlarged heads comprising: means defining an elongated housing; means within said housing defining a storage chamber for storing tacks; means within said housing defining a temporary storage chamber in communication with said storage chamber; tackholding means mounted on said housing for releasably holding a-tack in position to be inserted into a surface when said housing is in a first working position; and tack-removal means operable during manual movement of said housing throughout a range of positions exclusive of said first working position for removing a tack secured to a surface and depositing the removed tack into said temporary storage chamber.

2. A device according to claim 1; further including valve means for controlling the flow of tacks between said temporary storage and storage chambers.

3. A device according to claim 2; including means pivotally mounting said valve means to a closed position during operation of said removal means; and wherein said valve means includes means responsive to the weight of a tack disposed in said temporary storage chamber for opening said valve means; whereby said tack drops due to gravity into said storage chamber.

4. A device according to claim 3; wherein said valve means comprises a counterbalanced valve member pivotally mounted on an interior portion of said housing.

5. A device according to claim 1; further including another tack-removal means operable during manual movement of said housing throughout a range of positions different from both said first mentioned range of positions and said first working position for removing a tack secured to a surface.

6. A device according to claim 5; wherein said another tackremoval means comprises a pointed extension integral with said elongated body and dimensioned to be inserted beneath the head of the tack to be removed.

7. A device according to claim 6; further including a permanent magnet mounted on said housing and spaced from said pointed extension to magnetically attract and hold thereto the tack removed by said pointed extension.

8. A device according to claim 1; wherein said tack-holding means comprises a permanent magnet mounted on said housmg. I

9. A device according to claim 1; wherein said tack-removal means comprises a tapered edge portion of said housing; said tapered edge portion defining an opening in said housing in communication with said temporary storage chamber and said housing sized to receive therethrough the enlarged tack heads.

10. A device according to claim 1; further including means for manually opening said storage chamber to remove tacks therefrom. 

